Brexit could have a “significant impact” on the success of a scheme which plans on creating 25,000 Teesside jobs.

There are fears Brexit will mean there won’t be enough funding or labour available to enable the Tees Valley Strategic Economic Plan to succeed.

It’s emerged just £24.6m from a vital £170m EU kitty for the plan has been spent or earmarked.

It leaves the region facing a £145m funding shortfall which council bosses are now seeking to plug.

The claims comes in a new report which outlines the impact Britain’s planned departure from the EU could have on the region should the Government trigger Article 50.

And Middlesbrough Council’s report states the North-east could be “very negatively affected” by any post-Brexit trade deal which doesn’t include access to the free market.

Teesside voted overwhelmingly to leave the EU in June’s vote. It’s expected Britain will leave the EU by 2020.

However the report, designed to identity potential implications for the region should Britain leave, suggests the Tees Valley Strategic Economic Plan could face problems if Britain does Brexit.

That scheme ambitiously plans to create 25,000 jobs region-wide during the next decade.

However, there is no safeguards over a key funding pot should Britain leave.

While funding from the European Structural and Investment Fund is guaranteed until 2020, after that Britain won’t be able to access it.

And “no guarantees” have yet been made by the Government in providing replacement funding, which is vital to the future of the plan.

The report states: “This would clearly have a significant impact on the deliverability of the Tees Valley Strategic Plan.”

With Brexit expected to severely cap the approximately 1,000-a-year number of migrants moving to Teesside, the report states that may also hinder the success of the plan.

“Curbs in migration may result in reductions in the short to medium-term availability of skilled workers, particularly in the priority sectors of the refreshed Strategic Economic Plan,” states the report.

It adds that with many of the 25,000 jobs requiring advanced skills, many “can’t be sourced locally”.

It does state that there is “no suggestion” of any threats to jobs or projects where funding has either been spent or committed.

The report, due to go before the council on September 6, also warns that the number of foreign students applying to study in the region - a lucrative source of income for both Teesside and Durham University - could plummet.

The report comes after the Tees Valley Combined Authority agreed on Wednesday August 24 to address the potential issues.

The body will aim to secure ring-fenced Government funding for the region to cover the possible shortfall.

Previously Middlesbrough Mayor Dave Budd said: “I and my fellow Tees Valley council leaders campaigned for the UK to stay in the EU, and we remain concerned about the substantial risks to our economy and the opportunities available to our citizens.

“But we also recognise and respect the decision taken by the British people, and will now work to ensure a Brexit that works for our area.